A simple remedy for a difficult or intractable problem: "There is no single silver bullet or panacea that will solve all the problems of Bay Area schools"(San Francisco Chronicle).
[From the belief that werewolves could be killed with silver bullets.]
n. a specific, fail-safe solution to a problem. (From the notion that a bullet made of silver is required to shoot a werewolf.) : I'm not suggesting that the committee has provided us with a silver bullet, only that their advice was timely and useful. , I don't know the answer. I don't have a magic bullet!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History
silver bullet
"very effective, almost magical remedy," 1808. The belief in the magical power of silver weapons to conquer foes goes back at least to ancient Greece (e.g. Delphic Oracle's advice to Philip of Macedon).
